“Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore.”

Today was a day of looking for wonders along our drive and taking a break and going for it! The photos will tell the story: we're not in Kansas anymore.

The landscape in Colorado is so different from earlier in the trip, and as we approach or pass mountains, it changes again. The color of the rock, the vegetation, the texture and composition of the ground, the temperature, the wind, the housing styles. Haven't seen any wild animals (that's okay with me).

This morning we drove only about 30 minutes before stopping to hike a trail around this hill because it was called "Lookout Trail" and we wanted to see what the lookout had to offer. It was worth the hike!

Here, we're just at a turn off from the highway meant for people to stop and gape at the immense beauty of it all.

Some out-of-the-window road photos -- it's too pretty to not take pictures.

Another pretty turn off -- this one with a fast moving mountain stream, tumbling over itself in its rush to ground level.

And another scenic overlook for your viewing pleasure:

This last turn off featured a 105 foot waterfall - Treasure Falls. 

A steep but manageable hike took us 3/4 of the way to the top of the falls, but looking up we realized there was quite a bit more to climb and one of us (I'm raising my hand here) had an issue. We'd downed a lot of water on our first hike, and it was getting to me. Making it to the top to witness untold gallons of rushing water pouring off a ledge wasn't going to help my situation. 

Beautiful though these stops were, it was time to find a town.

Durango, CO!

Before heading to the hotel, we stopped at...

They do have a 5-hour train trip through the mountains, but we decided that a tour of the museum would do the trick. Enough sitting around! We're ready to hike and see stuff on foot. But here's a nice shot of one of the engines from the museum!

Tomorrow we head to Mesa Verde!